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This richly synthetic reading of Paul offers a compelling argument that the heart of Paul s soteriology lies in theosis the incorporation of God s people into the life and character of the God revealed in the cross. Michael Gorman deftly integrates the results of recent debates about Pauline theology into a powerful constructive account that overcomes unfruitful dichotomies and transcends recent controversies between the New Perspective on Paul and its traditionalist critics. Gorman s important book points the way forward for understanding the nonviolent, world-transforming character of Paul s gospel. Richard B. Hays / Duke Divinity School / Provides an important corrective to segmentalized ...
Christians have sometimes professed that the church ought to be "in the world but not of it," yet the meaning and significance of this conviction has continued to challenge and confound. In the context of persecution, Christians in the ancient world tended to distance themselves from the social and civic mainstream, while in the medieval and early modern periods, the church and secular authorities often worked in close relationship, sharing the role of shaping society. In a post-Christendom era, this latter arrangement has been heavily critiqued and largely dismantled, but there is no consensus in Christian thought as to what the alternative should be. The present collection of essays offers new perspectives on this subject matter, drawing on sometimes widely disparate interlocutors, ancient and modern, biblical and "secular." Readers will find these essays challenging and thought-provoking.
Is the Gospel Good News? was the theme of the 2015 H. H. Bingham Colloquium at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, held on June 4–5. The fourteen participants in this colloquium presented their own individual perspectives on the theme from three broad vantage points—Bible, theology, and crucial topics. The “good news” that Jesus proclaimed concerning the kingdom of God became the “gospel” proclaimed by his followers throughout church history. This gospel is about the coming of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of God’s will for humanity. This volume presents some accounts of how this good news has been understood through the ages and continues to be understood in ...
Is it a sin for Christians to be angry? After all, didn’t Jesus teach his disciples to forgive unconditionally? Rev. Dr. Maggie Low answers both of these questions with a resounding “No!” Debunking unhealthy assumptions about anger and forgiveness, God, I’m Angry! lays the groundwork for a biblical understanding of righteous anger, conditional forgiveness, and unconditional love. Low thoroughly engages both Old Testament and New Testament texts to demonstrate that biblical forgiveness is always reliant upon repentance. Examining the psalms of vengeance in their original context, she also establishes that there is such a thing as a healthy, and holy, expression of anger – a way to “do anger” with God that makes space for healing and restored relationship. Alongside profound theological insight, this book provides a step-by-step guide for application in pastoral counselling contexts and includes real life examples from Low’s extensive ministry experience. It is a source of practical wisdom for spiritual and emotional growth towards freedom, wholeness, and fullness of life.
One would think that peace, a term that occurs as many as one hundred times in the New Testament, would enjoy a prominent place in theology and ethics textbooks. Yet it is surprisingly absent. Willard Swartley's Covenant of Peace remedies this deficiency, restoring to New Testament theology and ethics the peace that many works have missed. In this comprehensive yet accessible book Swartley explicates virtually all of the New Testament, relating peace -- and the associated emphases of love for enemies and reconciliation -- to core theological themes such as salvation, christology, and the reign of God. No other work in English makes such a contribution. Swartley concludes by considering specific practices that lead to peacemaking and their place in our contemporary world. Retrieving a historically neglected element in the Christian message, Covenant of Peace confronts readers anew with the compelling New Testament witness to peace.
What if rather than only reading Philippians, we allowed Philippians to read us? In this 31st volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, New Testament scholar Gordon Zerbe challenges readers to allow Paul’s prison letter to interpret our own lives—not by extracting lessons out of historical and cultural context but by imagining ourselves into the ancient Roman world . . . and back again.
Luke is a gospel of joy, amazement, and warmth. From the jubilant birth narrative and Magnificat at the beginning to the wonder of the ascension at the end, Luke offers a matchless portrait of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and those who followed him. In the 36th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, New Testament scholar Mary H. Schertz helps readers inhabit the pages of the third gospel, replete with parables and paradoxes and ministries of mercy. In vibrant writing and with careful exegesis, Schertz invites readers to investigate for themselves the surprise, light, and awe of the kingdom of God, in which people find healing, the marginalized find welcome, and the poor find flo...
What constitutes a faithful life? At its most basic level, the New Testament book of Hebrews considers this essential question and pleads with its audience to find in faithful living the rest that Christ offers. The book begins with a poetic reflection on the one who lived the most faithful of lives—Jesus—and concludes with words of exhortation to go and do likewise. In the 37th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, scholars Debra J. Bucher and Estella Horning examine at great length one important aspect of Hebrews: Jesus as the “new covenant” and the “once for all,” better sacrifice who replaces the daily and yearly sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem...
God is gracious, holy, and present. As a book about how to worship and how to live, Leviticus unfurls these critical characteristics of God in relation to humanity. In the thirty-third volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, Old Testament scholar Perry B. Yoder argues that the oft-neglected book of Leviticus discloses valuable truths, symbols, and practices of the New Testament. Traversing difficult interpretive territory such as the sacrificial system, purity laws, and priestly instructions, Yoder writes with a clarity and nuance that will interest a wide swath of readers. He eloquently poses for readers the focal question of Leviticus: how to live in the presence of God.